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Councilmember Backous asked about the status of hosting the open house. <br />City Administrator Ulrich requested input on the format for the open house, noting nothing is <br />planned for October but an open house could be planned for later in the year. <br />City Administrator Ulrich reviewed and requested input on the Budget /Finance strategies related <br />to the City's road reconstruction initiative. <br />Mayor Ramsey stated he thinks it is important to have that discussion because he thought the <br />Council wanted to start funding road reconstruction even though the problem does not start until <br />2014. He supported setting aside funds now to help with that problem and discuss how road <br />reconstruction will be funded going forward. <br />Councilmember Backous suggested that item also be put in the Marketing strategic goal so <br />residents are aware the Council is working to solve that problem. <br />City Administrator Ulrich continued review of the Budget/Finance strategy items and asked for <br />input on management of services and cost to provide those services. He described how that can <br />be addressed by bringing staff together to brainstorm processes, noting it involves a short-term <br />expense but he believed it would be worth it in the long run. <br />Mayor Ramsey stated that is what the City Administrator is being paid to do, identify areas that <br />can be more efficient and request funding, if needed. <br />Councilmember Elvig suggested City Administrator Ulrich review the process to provide <br />services and submit a list of services that take 15 steps or more and could be more efficient. <br />City Administrator Ulrich reviewed the strategy for contracting services and functions. <br />Mayor Ramsey commented on the difficulty of comparing true costs between staff and <br />consultants. <br />Councilmember Backous agreed it is difficult to quantify costs for contractors and staff so you <br />need to get as close as you can. <br />Mayor Ramsey stated the City knows the costs for salary, benefits, insurance, vehicles, and <br />nonproductive time. The other factor is the cost to cover staff's mistakes and if a contractor <br />covers their own mistakes. <br />Councilmember Backous noted when using contractors there is also a loss of institutional <br />knowledge that a long -term employee would be aware of, which is another difficult item to <br />quantify. <br />Mayor Ramsey reviewed a case where a staff mistake was made even though plans had been <br />prepared. <br />City Council Work Session / October 2, 2012 <br />Page 2 of 9 <br />